Two-dollar Burger

I forgot to mention in my post on the Lupulin series that I had the happy-meal burger during that visit. Some people ask me what I mean when I describe myself as a "bad vegetarian." This is a pretty good example: when confronted with a half-pound cheeseburger and fries for two bucks, what do I do? I wouldn't order it every time, but man, is that a helluva deal or what? So I backslid on Thursday.

For those of you who are not bad vegetarians (or good ones), this is a no-brainer. It's available 3-6 every day at the Pilsner Room. Although they do alter the happy-hour menu daily, the waitress confirmed that this is pretty much always on it. The best deal in Portland.

Selected Beer News

Fresh Hop Tasting at the Pilsner Room
0309 SW Montgomery St (Harborside)
503-220-1865

The Pilsner Room at McCormick & Schmick's Harborside debuts seven taps of fresh hop ales tonight. These are the experimental, one-of-a-kind beers breweries made from freshly-picked hops in the past several weeks. It's a nice opportunity to sit down and sample more than one so you can begin to pick up on the characteristics that distinguish fresh hops from dried hops--you can't miss the difference. For some reason, I have a list that includes only six names, so consider the last one a mystery tap:

• Full Sail Lupulin Ale
• BridgePort Hop Harvest Ale
• Sierra Nevada Havest Ale
• Deschutes Hop Trip
• Great Divide
• Laurelwood Fresh Hop Extra Pale Ale

Green Dragon Gears Up
928 SE 9th Avenue

I stuck my head in the Green Dragon last week on my way to the Lucky Lab for a pint of Mutt (the brewery's fresh hop offering--review to come) last week. It's going to be a pretty cool place. The seating portion of the pub is on the 9th Avenue side, and you can see the brewery space in the warehouse beyond. The seating is elegant but not posh--it has a decidedly East Side feel and will fit in nicely in the Beermuda Triangle. Brewing should begin soon, with beers ready in--according to the waitress I asked last week--a month. Also, this update from owner Jim Parker:

"As I type,the draft lines ae being installed and we will soon jump from four taps to 18. Make that five to 18... we just tapped the first pint of Old Rasputin on nitro... the first beer through our draft system. The other taps will be up and running before the end of the night. We also just tapped Double Mountain Killer Green... a fresh-hop IPA.

Other current offerings include Czechvar, Bend Black Diamond Dark Lager, and Collaborator Cascadian Dark Ale. Coming soon: New Belgium LaFolie, Hopworks Urban Brewery IPA, Amnesia ESB, Ninkasi Total Domination IPA, Racer X double IPA, Walking Man Sasquatch Legacy, an imperial steam beer, Avery 14 strong ale, Redstone Black Raspberry Nectar mead, Deschutes Lone Rock organic red ale (a test batch of the upcoming Green Lakes organic red that will be released in December), Dupont Saison Avec le Bon Veaux.

We're still trying to get our hands on the European tavern heads that will allow us to tap such goodies as Maredsous 8 and JW Lees Harvest Ale. So no guarantees on extra taps tonight, but by tomorrow, is a lock. Beer engines next."

If you're in the neighborhood, it's worth ambling over to the Lucky Lab and Roots for the fresh hop ales, too.